AAF can thank NHL owner for saving the day amid missed payroll disaster

San Diego Fleet running back Ja'Quan Gardner (32) breaks free for a long first down rush in the second half of an AAF football game between the Atlanta Legends and the San Diego Fleet, Sunday, Feb. 17, 2019, at SDCCU Stadium in San Diego, Calif. (Peter Joneleit via AP Photo) (Peter B Joneleit/AP)

If the Alliance of American Football doesn’t make it to a second season, we’ll be able to look back at its second week as a big reason why the league didn’t last.

After a successful debut weekend — more than 6 million people watched the first two games on CBS — the new football league full of guys who used to play, coach, and still have dreams of making it to the NFL almost ended days after its inaugural season kicked off.

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“The AAF missed payroll in Week 1. They told agents that it was a glitch with switching to a new administrator. They told players would be paid by today the latest,” tweeted sports business reporter Darren Rovell early Tuesday morning.

“Update: AAF players who were told league missed payroll for Week 1 because of a glitch have now been paid, hours after league announces it essentially sold itself to Carolina Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon,” tweeted Rovell hours later.

The league was about to miss payroll for its second consecutive week until Dundon stepped in, according to reports. His $250 million is likely the sole reason why employees will be getting their money.

“Without a new, nine-figure investor, nobody is sure what would have happened,” a source told The Athletic’s David Glenn. “You can always tell people their checks are going to be a little late, but how many are going to show up on the weekend for games when they don’t see anything hit their bank accounts on Friday?”

However, the AAF is refuting claims that the league is cash strapped and on its last leg.

“The announcement today that Hurricanes owner Tom Dundon is investing $250 million was planned and separate from what is being called a glitch in payroll as everyone was being moved over to a new system. Some players received late payments," said an AAF spokesperson to CBS Sports. “Dundon's investment helps get the AAF to a new milestone, which as the spokesperson said, is what start-ups are trying to achieve. No one was in danger of not being paid.”

Dundon also becomes the league’s new chairman.

The eight-team league is trying to do what the USFL, XFL and UFL all couldn’t, which is survive as a second pro football league in America. The AAF is selling itself as a developmental league, sort of like the NBA’s G-League, as it started the week after the Super Bowl and will include a 10-game regular season.

"This has been an extraordinary undertaking for us," said AAF co-founder Charlie Ebersol, who partnered with former NFL exec Bill Polian to create the league. "It's a giant challenge and opportunity, and as a startup you are constantly looking for some peace of mind. When we got out of the first week of games, we saw there was so much interest from investors, and if we had one person who could take care of us for a very long time, that would be great."

While the league is led by big-name coaches like Steve Spurrier and Mike Martz, the players are mostly unknowns or guys who had short stints in the NFL like Jets-bust Christian Hackenberg, Denard Robinson, Trent Richardson and Aaron Murray.

The league flamed out on trying to sign Colin Kaepernick, as he reportedly asked for at least $20 million to play. Tim Tebow also told the league, and Spurrier, no as he’s focused on his other job, trying to make the Mets roster.

"It was easy, even though it was an awesome offer and great and it was humbling," said Tebow about whether or not it was hard to turn the league’s offer down. "Still, I'm all in on baseball. No way could I stop and not give this the chance after everything I've worked for."

The AAF currently includes the Arizona Hotshots, Atlanta Legends, Birmingham Iron, Memphis Express, Orlando Apollos, Salt Lake Stallions, San Antonio Commanders and the San Diego Fleet.